EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Doug Baldwin On What The Word ‘Pedestrian’ Means To Him

I had the pleasure of chatting with Doug Baldwin this past Friday and talked to the Seattle Seahawks’ leading receiver about what motivates him.

Baldwin has been given the nickname “Angry Doug” by fans who have taken notice of his tendency to receive criticisms of himself and other Seattle wide-outs and blasting the sources of the criticism at the appropriate time. Such as after Jermaine Kearse‘s 63-yard TD catch in last week’s win.

But don’t get the wrong impression. Off the field Baldwin is humble and almost soft-spoken, even. I mean seriously, I’m a 19-year old college student and he was completely forthcoming with his time and his answers. I was half expecting him to big-league me! Doug is an awesome guy. A big surprise, however, was the fact that he hasn’t always been the confident player and person that he has become. He talked about his mindset during his rookie season.

“Because I was undrafted, part of me felt I wasn’t good enough, to be completely honest,” Baldwin said. “There was definitely a part of me that thought I wasn’t good enough to play in this league. I just always want to have that chip on my shoulder and not leave any room for anyone to be working harder than me.”

As he not-so-subtly mentioned in the above video, “pedestrian” is one of the many labels that has been given to him and the Seattle receivers by the national media.

“All those connotations that surround our receiving core, we don’t take them too seriously because we know what we’re capable of,” Baldwin said. “But in the grand scheme of things, pedestrian and average is going to be our moniker everywhere we go. So we have kind of embraced it and utilized it as motivation.”

Sep 21, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin (89) walks off the field following a 26-20 overtime victory against the Denver Broncos at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Baldwin also talked about a major motivational factor that he and the Seahawks have over their opponents: the structuring of their contracts.

John Schneider and the Seahawks’ front office have chosen to sign players such as Baldwin, Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, K.J. Wright, and others to two, three, and four-year deals, while other teams try to lock up their key players for as long as possible.

“It leaves a little bit of bait out there for us. For me personally signing a two-year deal, I love Seattle but I wanted to leave something out there for my future efforts,” Baldwin said. “So I think that’s what they do for all the guys, they leave something out there so they keep scratching and clawing like they haven’t got the respect and they haven’t got the contract that they really wanted, and that’s the mentality that they’ve envisioned this whole team having.”

But all that “pedestrian” and contract stuff aside, one of the biggest impacts on Doug’s life has been made through his relationship with God, something that he is very outspoken about on social media.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I wasn’t able to ask about it. But I know he would want that included in a story about what motivates him!

In the upcoming weeks Doug Baldwin will go about his “average” business like any “pedestrian” would, on his to his way to the Super Bowl and finishing the season as the leading receiver for the Seahawks.

Next: Seattle seahawks Beat Green Bay Packers 28-22, One Up Themselves